McIlroy shows no signs of letting up

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts after making a birdie putt on the 17th hole during the third round of the Masters golf tournament Saturday, April 9, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
— AP

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts after making a birdie putt on the 17th hole during the third round of the Masters golf tournament Saturday, April 9, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
/ AP

The 75th Masters

Leader: Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy shot a steady round of 2-under-par 70 to get to 12-under and take a four-stroke lead into the final round. At 21 years, 11 months, he is trying to become the second-youngest Masters champion behind Tiger Woods (1997).

Chasers: Argentina’s Angel Cabrera tied for the day’s best score with a 67, and the 2009 Masters champion will play in the final pairing. Also tied at 8-under are South African Charl Schwartzel (67), South Korea’s K.J. Choi (68) and Australia’s Jason Day (72). The top American on the board is Bo Van Pelt (68) at 6-under.

Stragglers: Fred Couples, 51, made a double-bogey 7 on the eighth, usually a birdie hole, and shot 72 to fall seven shots back. Farmers Insurance Open champion Bubba Watson shot 67 to get to 5-under, but would be more in the hunt if he hadn’t doubled the 12th in the first two rounds. Saturday, he made birdie.

Phil Watch: Reigning Masters champion Phil Mickelson will fall short of winning his fourth green jacket after managing only a 1-under 71. Mickelson is tied for 18th at 3-under. The last time he defended at Augusta in 2007 he tied for 24th.

Tiger Watch: Tiger Woods failed to sustain the momentum from his Friday 66 by scoring a 2-over 74, and at seven shots behind he will likely go winless for a sixth straight Masters.

Masters Moment: A writer from Golfweek tweeted Saturday night that after his round Cabrera walked across Washington Road and helped his friend John Daly sell merchandise from a trailer. British bookmakers placed the odds at 7-5 that it was on to Hooters from there.

TOD LEONARD

AUGUSTA, Ga.  The fans were providing a rousing ovation around the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club, but Rory McIlroy was lost in thought.

Instead of soaking up the atmosphere that may have been a prelude to a triumphant walk Sunday evening in the 75th Masters, the young Irishman was staring at the line of the birdie putt he had just missed.

That’s how focused this kid is. That’s how driven he is.

A four-stroke lead over four players at the end of Saturday wasn’t good enough for the 21-year-old. He wanted better than the 2-under-par 70 that still gave him an enormous chance to capture his first green jacket in only the ninth major championship in which he has played.

You can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. There is a quiet expectation to go with his bounty of confidence.

“It’s a great position to be in,” McIlroy said. “I feel comfortable with my game, comfortable with the way I prepared, and all of a sudden I’m finally feeling comfortable on this golf course. With a combination like that, you’re going to feel pretty good.”

Jason Day, the Australian 23-year-old who played alongside McIlroy for the first three rounds and is among those who are four shots back, seemed to all but anoint him as the next Augusta winner.